Jaylen Brown named one way LeBron James and any other NBA star is yet to surpass Michael Jordan. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar and Chicago Bulls icon have been pitted against each other for a hot minute now.
Several fans and analysts have made the case for each of them as the greatest player of all time, but Brown sees a category in which nobody comes close to the six-time NBA champion.
In a conversation with “Earn Your Leisure,” Jaylen Brown mentioned an important difference between Jordan and James. This time, though, it was a financial factor that differentiated them.
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“Nobody surpassed Michael Jordan since,” Brown said. “Not LeBron, and we’re in a whole different era, that was over 40 years ago. These people you seeing in all the commercials, people you seeing with these big deals and they using the machine to force them to be an undeniable star.
“And all these brands, they are just monetizing off of them. The deals they are actually getting are not that lucrative. Jordan was one of one. Nobody surpassed Jordan since.”
Jordan’s name was synonymous with money, although he had to bet on himself and Nike at the beginning of his career, and his salary totaled $90 million.
Picking Nike over Adidas or any other company paid off, as the Jordan Brand is one of the biggest in the world, evolving from a simple sports-shoes company to a fashion brand around the globe.
Jordan’s net worth is estimated at $3.5 billion after selling the Charlotte Hornets in 2003. That’s almost triple James’ estimated net worth ($1.2 billion). Jordan made a huge impact during his active days and the NBA, Nike and more companies cashed in on his popularity while also giving him a piece of the pie.